Awaiting A Title
by le stylo
Summary: Masato lands a voice acting role and he and Haruka work on a song together. It leads to a surprising confession. Based on Maaya Sakamoto and Suzuken.


Punctual. Beyond punctual. Meeting with Masato was like that. There were specific boys Haruka knew she could be a little more lax with. But the Starish pianist wasn't one of them. He went above and beyond, arriving early, especially when he could help it. It wasn't the ten or fifteen minute courtesy kind of early. It was half an hour to an actual hour early.

He had been like this since the beginning. When she worked with him, she decided to make a habit to get up and prepare early. It became as natural as breathing before she even noticed. Today was no different from those other times. Haruka drew a deep breath and slowly released it as she listed off the top of her head what she could need for the meeting. She was afraid that in her excitement she might leave something of importance.

'Take it slow...' She told herself, grabbing her purse, laptop and folder filled with sheet music and of course the piece she just finished the previous night that she was eager to present to Masato. Haruka sighed as she set the contents in her arms on her desk and checked the mirror. She straightened her hair clip, then putting her hands on her cheeks she gingerly brushed the area beneath her eyes, recalling the events of the night before.

She couldn't sleep and crept into the practice room to play the piano. As she played into the night, she incorporated Masato's ideas and suggestions, thinking carefully how to smoothly connect from one part to the next. Inspiration did not take long to strike as soon her fingers seemed to move upon the ivory keys on their own. Before she knew it, she had finished the song, and had altered some of the arrangements. She liked the changes and hoped that Masato would like them as well. However, that accomplishment wasn't enough to exhaust her into sleep, and so she took advantage of her restlessness and planned what to wear to the meeting.

Haruka smiled at her work. Tomochika really did teach her well. There was no way that Masato would be able to tell she was up at night so late—that she barely had any sleep. She wondered if it he'd be able to guess just by how jittery she was. She shook her head and gathered the items on her desk. There was no use worrying over that. Besides, he is there for the music...and so was she. She opened her door and stepped out and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of her name.

"Nanami."

"H-Hijirikawa san!" she yelped, her hand tightening around the strap of her purse and the other squeezing her laptop and folder as close as possible against herself, "I wasn't expecting you!"

He didn't message her. She didn't message him. What she expected was to meet him sitting in the practice room already. Playing on the piano. But here he was.

"I was on my way to the practice room."

The sound of his voice was cool and unwavering. And convincing, so that Haruka found her self nodding even though she felt a little perplexed. Her room in relation to the practice room was out of the way. She would know, she got lost plenty of times after all.

"Well, then, shall we both go together?" she suggested, walking to his side.

A small smile and chuckle from Masato and Haruka found herself relaxing. It always seemed to be that way, a little tense when they first meet, slowly getting comfortable and by the end...

"Nanami,we are here," he said opening the door and letting her in before stepping into the room as well. The room was dim, and the first thing Masato did was to open up the curtains to let the golden rays of the sun into the room. The area near the piano was well lit with the natural light while the other side close to the door was still under the shroud of darkness. Haruka put her purse and computer on one of the plush armchairs nearby and placed her folder on the rack, taking out a stack of music sheets and setting them up to easily access them, before sitting on the piano bench. She ran her finger across the keys and pressed one closing her eyes. Then she proceeded to warm up starting with scales. Masato  
after a while did as well, following her lead.

Haruka felt goosebumps all over her skin, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She almost stopped just to listen to him but caught herself. After playing the scales, she stretched a little and then started to play a slow soft melody. Masato, recognizing the song sang right along. While her fingers tickled the keys and her body swayed, her heart danced to the melody of the piano and his voice. Playing and listening to it felt so nostalgic. The song was like a warm embrace, a gentle encouragement inspiring hope in the future. As she was finishing the song, her pace picked up and the tune changed completely. Haruka played so that the songs melded together seamlessly, and Masato followed easily.

The next song was a song that expressed determination in expressing love and the desire to make things happen with one's own hands. Haruka's fingers slammed on the keys, consumed by the passion in the song, and his voice. It was just a warm up she that she thought she could have fun with. But she found herself breathless, and breathing heavily afterward.

"Knocking on the mind and then Most Fortissimo..." Masato trailed off,crossing his arms and scratching his chin in thought.

"I thought it would be a really fun spin on warm ups!" Haruka exclaimed happily. She had been thinking really hard in how to help him. Not just with the song he was going to sing but the voice acting role he landed.

"Ah~ Hijirikawa san, the character you will be playing is a single father, who is plain but he is doting, kindhearted, considerate and hardworking. So I thought mixing something gentle, but also fast could show the growth your character may undergo..." Haruka explained. She had seen a little of his script, just enough to help her with the song and to come up with her idea she just implemented.

"Thank you, it was a fun and interesting idea." Masato replied with a warm smile and Haruka found her smile widening. She looked at him and imagined the character. Masato wasn't exactly plain like the character described but she felt the other traits were like him. It was a role that suited him but at the same time would challenge him.

Haruka gathered a stack of sheet music from the rack and approached Masato.

"Here is the song I composed."

She bowed as she handed him the stack. While her face was towards the ground she allowed her self to smile as widely and goofy as possible. It was a piece she was very proud of . When he had taken the sheets from her she got up slowly, chewing the inside of her cheek as she shifted from one foot to the other in place.

Masato was focused on the sheet, nodding with it in his hand. He seemed to be talking to himself. Mouthing the lyrics he wrote to the melody she wrote no doubt. Whispers became humming, humming became singing. He then stopped to put the music in front of Haruka. He leaned over her and brushed her fingers with his, gently pressing them down on the piano as if prompting her to play. She looked at the sheet music in front of her and started playing. Masato, still hovering behind her sang softly near her ear, as he played the piano with her.

"Hijirikawa san..." Haruka's soft voice a spoke over the piano as she slowed to a stop. As if just noticing their proximity, he gasped and took a quick step back quickly with a mumbled apology.

"Come sit beside me and play along," she suggested, standing up. He pulled the seat so he could slide in and sit beside her. They both sat down at the same time and started to play together once more.

"This is a very nice addition, Nanami." Masato remarked, as his fingers glided on the keys. Haruka pretended not to be watching him, her eyes on her own fingers, stalled in place as he completely took over. From the corners of her eyes she watched him, unmoving, barely breathing. He looked so elegant while he played... Actually, that was him all the time.

They played the song she made over and over until they were both satisfied. With each time they played, the song grew a little more silly and playful until they were both just doing covers of songs by other artists and toying with them as well. The pair was having so much fun they didn't even notice how much time had passed. Both Masato and Haruka seemed to have an unspoken understanding when they both started to play a soft and slow melody It gradually gained tempo and intensity. Haruka felt lucky that she could hear it in person, in a room that carried sound well and all by herself. It felt like Masato was serenading her.

"I swear on my life I will love you" Masato finished, the sound of the piano and his voice fading.

Haruka didn't notice until the very end that she was gawking at him, with her mouth hanging slightly open. She clapped her hands after a while.

"That was amazing, Hijirikawa san!"

"Nanami. Thank you," Masato said getting up from the seat to bow in gratitude, "I really liked today's session!"

"I really like you too, Hijirikawa san..." Haruka responded, a slight blush on her cheeks, her gaze steady on his face.

He was the first one to break eye contact. His eyes switching from the floor and her face.

"W-what..." He stammered taking a step back.

"I like you Hijirikawa san!" She repeated.

"L-like-like Since when...?" He wandered aloud.

"For a long time now." The composer admitted. Masato looked a little bit pale.

"B-but like-like love?"

Haruka giggled. "Do you want to go to a cafe?" She asked hoping that the shift in the conversation would allow him to breathe even a little.

Masato coughed, as if he was clearing his throat.

"I would like that..." he responded. 


End file.
